In
Figure 1 we see a tight yoga student trying to imitate B.K.S. Iyengar
in Light on Yoga. Restrictions in the groins and feet bind up the
spine and compress the breathing, disturbing consciousness. The mind struggles
to "do" the pose. This is not yoga. As the cosmic law of differentiation
demonstrates, each body, each being, each moment in time is unique. There
is no mold into which we must cram ourselves. The question for the practitioner
of asanas is, How can this body, this atman, express the essence
of the pose, given the physical reality of the present moment? How can
we begin to explore the form and still allow the breath to flow freely,
the blood to circulate fully, the mind to watch quietly? As B.K.S. Iyengar
states in The Tree of Yoga, "One should not adjust the asana to
fit one's body structure, but mold the body to the requirement of the
asana. Then the asana will have the right physical, physiological, intellectual,
and spiritual bearing."(4)

Parivrtta Trikonasana is first of all a standing pose, which means that
the legs have to be firmly grounded on Mother Earth. In Tadasana, the
first of the standing poses, the legs learn to work while directly under
the spinal column and torso. In Revolved Triangle, the legs are spread
three to four feet apart to create a triangular base for the torso and
spine (Figure 5 ). The heel of the front foot should be in line with the
heel or arch of the back foot.

Second, Parivrtta Trikonasana is a forward-bending asana, as the pelvis
flexes through the hip joints over the stable legs, bringing the spine
away from the upright position and toward a position parallel to the floor.
Third, it is a twisting pose, as the pelvis then rotates over the femur
bones and the entire spinal column rotates around and up toward the ceiling.

In Figure 1, we see that in this body, today, the legs are unable to support
the torso when the hand is taken to the floor. The hip joint restriction
locks the pelvis into an awkward position, and this in turn distorts the
spine and collapses the abdomen. The respiration and circulation are both
diminished.

In Figure 2, the student has adjusted for tight hamstrings in the forward
bend by elevating the hand, and for tight groins and outer hips in the
twist by moving the hand away from the inner groin. The first action frees
the pelvis to reconnect the legs to the spinal column; the second adjustment
releases the breath into the abdomen and pelvis, opening circulation,
softening the sense organs, and quieting the brain. Because the legs are
feeding the spine with lift, the student can stay in the pose, developing
strength and stability. Because the breath is flowing quietly, the student
can feel the subtleties of the pose and begin to open the body farther.
This is communion, in which all the various cells, nerves, organs, and
muscle fibers begin to work together consciously. As the tightened muscles
are released into the bones, the bones grow stronger, the body grows longer,
and the range of freedom increases. The hand position can gradually (over
a period of years, for many of us) be brought into the completed position
(to the floor and outside the leg; Figure 5.)

In Figure 5, we can look more closely at the spirals that underlie this
twisting asana. The primary twisting action comes from the legs. (See
"Yoga for Hips & Thighs" for a more complete
description of the double spirals of the groin region.) The muscular action
of the legs involves a downward or grounding spiral and an upward or lifting
spiral. Kinesiologically speaking, the downward spiral involves internal
rotation of the leg (femur and tibia) and pronation and dorsiflexion of
the foot. The upward spirals include their antagonists: external rotation
of the leg and supination and plantar flexion of the foot. When both occur
simultaneously (actually a very rapid oscillation between the two), the
bones of the feet and legs stabilize and carry both the grounding and
lifting energies. (Feel the contact of the feet on the floor and adjust
and balance to maintain even contact through big toe, little toe, and
inner and outer heels.) The grounding of the legs creates a lift that
is received by the spinal column and transformed into an extended spiral
that flows in a wavelike motion from the coccyx bone through the top of
the skull.

As in Tadasana (Mountain Pose) and all other poses, the skin moves up
the front of the body (with the anterior spine elongating in the same
direction) and down toward the coccyx on the back of the body. This action
is difficult in the bottom shoulder region, as the bottom shoulder blade
is often dragged toward the front of the body. In Figure 4 we see the
dynamic action required in the shoulder blade as it moves to the tail
bone and presses firmly into the rib cage to help open the chest. In Figure
3 we see an interesting variation on the pose. In this position the back
leg is now internally rotated, with the toes in and the heel out, exactly
opposite of the standard way of executing the pose. This action gives
a very different feeling to the hips and spine. In the normal position,
the anterior spine (especially on the back-leg side) receives more of
the twist, whereas in Figure 3, the posterior portion of the spine receives
more of the twist. In the depths of a well-performed asana, we experience
an emergence of awe in the face of an infinitely powerful and mysterious
universe. This innocent, childlike state, which is full of reverence for
the amazing reality of pure being, has to be carefully nurtured and developed
so it begins to permeate all aspects of our lives. In this manner we become
the universe, open to the creative spontaneities of the present moment
and no longer so full of ourselves as isolated egos. Brian Swimme puts
it this way:

"I condense our contemporary cosmological scientific story of reality
by saying that the universe is a green dragon. Green because the whole
universe is alive, an embryogenesis beginning with the cosmic egg of the
primeval fireball and culminating in the present emergent reality. And
a dragon too, nothing less. Dragons are mystical, powerful, emerging out
of mystery, disappearing in mystery, fierce, benign, known to teach humans
the deepest reaches of wisdom. And dragons are filled with fire. Though
there are no dragons, we are dragon fire. We are the creative, scintillating,
searing, healing flame of the awesome and enchanting universe."(5)

The triangle is trinity becoming unity, Parivrtta Trikonasana (Revolved
Triangle) is the complement to Utthita Trikonasana (Extended Triangle
Pose), as the pelvis and torso are rotated in the opposite direction.

1.
(Incorrect) This student is trying to force the pose onto his body. Tightness
in the legs and pelvis restricts range of motion, and thus the pelvic
and abdominal regions are com pressed and distorted as the brain strug
gles to "do" the pose.

2.
This student allows the freedom of the pose to be expressed. The legs
are still very active, but the hand is elevated and moved to the in side
of the front leg to liberate the spinal column, breathing, and circulation
to the lower body. The top arm hand (hard to see) rests on the pelvis
to guide the intelligence to the pelvis and lower spine.

3.
In this varation, the back leg, which normally turns out, is , now turned
inward. The pelvis and spinal column here receive more of the twist.

4.
In this view of the pose, notice the action on the lower shoulder blade
and bottom armpit. This region has to move away from the neck and press
into the rib cage to open the back-leg side of the chest.